Apple has been shopping networks and studios a service that would allow users to skip commercials for a fee. The negotiations represent a new spearhead from Apple to bring a premium TV platform to market, with the company seeing revenue-for-ad-skipping as an opportunity to get its corporate foot in the door.

There's one less console in the living room now that Microsoft has officially announced the demise of MSN TV. The device started life as WebTV and was a hardware package that turned user's televisions into simple Web surfing and email systems while also offering up online entertainment, and even though it will soon be gone, Apple doesn't have much to celebrate.

Apple is reportedly close to a deal with Time Warner Cable that would allow the company to offer the cable provider's content through the Apple TV. The company has also hired Pete Distad, formerly senior vice president in charge of marketing and distribution at Hulu, to help with industry negotiations. Bryan Chaffin looks at the implications.

Apple expanded its content lineup for Apple TV on Wednesday when it announced that HBO GO and WatchESPN are both available directly through the home entertainment device. Along with HBO and ESPN, Apple also added Sky News, Crunchyroll and Qello to the Apple TV lineup.

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Love your Apple TV, but don't love all of the applications that come pre-installed? Then hide the ones you don't want, and enjoy a cleaner user interface! All you need is your Apple remote and a couple minutes of your time.

CW has struck a deal with Apple to bring its shows to the Apple TV. The network already offers its content through iPhone and iPad apps the day after it airs on television, but with the new deal CW will offer content through a native Apple TV app.

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CW coming to Apple TV sure looks like a hint at what Apple wants for its hobby set top box: Cable TV content with a viewer contract. If this works well for CW other networks will likely follow, and viewers will have even more excuses to cut the cable cord.

Amazon is reportedly working on its own TV settop box for streaming videos under its Instant Video -branded service. Citing three unnamed sources, Bloomberg said the product is being built in Amazon's Lab126 division in Cupertino, CA, under the direction of several settop and video engineering veterans.

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The question in our mind is why the networks and studios that have met Apple's desires in this same space with such resistance have so freely licensed streaming rights to Amazon.

Along with iOS 6.1.3 for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, Apple released Apple TV version 5.2.1 on Tuesday. The update for the streaming home media device included a redesigned Hulu Plus interface, along with several security-related patches.

In this article, Melissa Holt will cover a few special features you can take advantage of using your Apple TV remote—jumping ahead by chapter, for example, or turning closed captioning on right from within a movie. Also, she'll go over how to set up a third-party remote to control your Apple TV. There's so much info in here, your brain may explode. (TMO is not responsible for brain explosions.)

Apple may be preparing a March event to introduce Apple TV-related developer tools as a prelude to a later launch of the much-rumored Apple "iTV" television hardware, according to a new note from Jeffries analyst Peter Misek.